The Untold Stories of Ariana Dumbledore
by TheDarkKunoichi
Summary: "Ab... S-She's hurt. Really bad." "What do you mean? There's just a few blood and bruises-" "You wouldn't understand. The Muggle boys did something and... and I'm afraid she won't be the same anymore." - Chapter 4: Azkaban, now posted.
1. Chapter 1 - Ariana's 6th Birthday

**Chapter 1 - Ariana's 6th Birthday**

**It's pretty hard to write from a child's perspective, but I'll manage. Please tell me if you spotted mistakes, and I'll be glad to change them.  
****BTW, as the events from the Dumbledores' life, especially Ariana's, is limited, I'll be adding some of my twists here. Hope it satisfies you.**

**~~O~~**

Young Ariana Dumbledore tugged at her light blue dress and walked past her open bedroom window. She watched as the first rays of sunshine shone on her face and smiled as a butterfly passed by, butterflies always liked her best. Much like how goats loved her brother, Aberforth. "Hello." She told it as she proceeded to tie a ribbon around her long, yellow locks. She always wakes up early and dresses up by herself since she was four years old. Her mother is proud whenever she does it, so she assumed it is a very mature thing to do. But there is another reason why she's so early today. And it's because it's her **6th** birthday!

She giggles excitedly and skips out, going straight to the room of Aberforth. She happily opens the door and saw, to her disappointment, an empty bed. So that means he's already awake. And she thought she's the first one up! She huffs in annoyance and strode off to her other brother, Albus', room. She knew she would find it empty as well, but she still felt the need to check. After confirming it was, she walked gloomily downstairs and into the kitchen, where she's jumped on by her family, everyone yelling "Happy Birthday!" to her. She grinned and squealed when she observed the room. It's full of decorations! Magical non-explodable, luminous balloons hung in the air casting the surroundings with colorful lights, pink and blue banners were hung everywhere, plenty of food and cake at their magically enlarged table, and so much more! She laughed and twirled around, admiring every inch of the room. "Pretty!"

"Shall we open your presents now?" Percival Dumbledore asked her gently and she quickly nodded. "Yes please!"

Her father laughed and ruffled her hair affectionately as he made a box with colorful wrappings appear out of thin air with a _pop!_ She giggled when she saw that. She wouldn't stop admiring all the magic her family is doing. She couldn't wait to do it herself!

Her brothers brought out their gifts the normal way because they still could not control their magic. Speaking of magic, Ariana can vaguely remember the times when her brothers first showed that they have 'magical blood', as her father calls them. Albus first showed the signs when he was five, he made their dinner explode in excitement when he was presented, for the first time ever, a _large _book. Their parents had been so happy then, Albus told her. Aberforth, on the other hand, couldn't bear to... what did he say? 'Lose' to their big brother so he tried very hard to do his magic. He succeeded a month after, when he made one of their goats levitate a few feet. Their parents were overjoyed, Aberforth says. Now all that's left is her. She didn't feel the pressure though, she knew it would show itself when the time comes. So for the meantime, she contents herself in watching her family do theirs, especially the pretty lights her father does with his stick. He calls it a wand, but she always imagined a wand to be the one fairies handle, with a star on the tip. It doesn't look like it has a star. Maybe he keeps it somewhere? Or maybe those pretty lights _are_ the stars. She would deal with that later…

She sat by the table and decided to open her father's present first. She was confused when she saw a small glass ball with puffy clouds inside. She shot a questioning look to her father, who laughed lightly and said, "That, my daughter, is a Remembrall. Remembralls are things who help you find out if you forgot something. The cloud inside turns red then."

"Isn't that expensive?" Albus asked.

"Nothing is expensive when it is for our little girl."

"It's beautiful!" She said as she watched the clear white cloud swirl inside. "And I didn't forget anything!"

"My gift next!" Aberoforth grinned and shoved it in front of her. She immediately started tearing up the wrappings and revealed a HUGE box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"That's it?" Albus raised an eyebrow.

"Well it's my allowance so why do you care? It's for Ari anyway." He scowled and she smiled at him before they went through a yelling match again. "Thank you Abe!"

"Here is mother's and mine Ari." Albus moved the candy away and laid a long pink box in its former place. Aberforth grunted in frustration and went to retrieve the beans.

She made a disapproving look to Albus and he shrugged. "Mine's better than his anyway."

"But we _love_ guessing the flavors, right Abe?"

She saw Aberforth flash a smug look at Albus and he rolled his eyes, "Just open it Ari."

She grinned at them and started opening the box carefully, where it revealed a brand new toy broomstick. She and Aberforth gasped when they saw it and Albus grinned in satisfaction.

"B-But that's… where the _bloody_ hell did you get the money?!" Aberforth cursed and Kendra Dumbledore immediately rounded on him, "Aberforth Dumbledore, don't you dare repeat those words _ever_ again in this house! You're grounded!"

"Darn it…" Aberforth muttered so only Ariana will hear and she giggled.

"Well, if you must know, I borrowed some money from mother and she didn't mind at all."

"So it's not your present, its mother's! You didn't buy it with your allowance!"

"Not really, I contributed some. And it's _both_ our presents for her. It's not a big deal Abe."

"Why you-!"

"Thanks a lot Al!" She hugged her big brother before the fight got worse. He smiled and hugged her back before releasing her just as quickly. Then, he helped her get on the broom that's floating just four inches from the ground and they watched as she sped away while laughing happily.

"Ari! Who knew you're a natural on broomsticks?" Albus complimented her.

"You'll be a good female Quidditch player in Hogwarts, I'll tell you that!" Aberforth grinned.

"Now Ari, settle down and let's eat before the food gets any colder." Kendra said and they watched in total amazement as Ariana skillfully dived down to her chair and hopped off before she could crash.

"And she just did a dive! Are you sure this is your first time riding broomsticks?!" Aberforth demanded in bewilderment.

"Now now young man, chat's over so let's eat. You wouldn't want to face the wrath of Mother now right?" Their father teased and they all laughed.

Not one knew that it'll be the last time they'll ever laugh together as a family…


	2. Chapter 2 - The Assault

**Chapter 2 - The Assault**

**Okay, so this'll probably be where the T rating comes in. Children and young teens beware.**

**~~O~~**

"Can I go outside now mummy? Pleaassee?" Ariana drawled as she gave her best puppy eyes to their stoic mother just after finishing her birthday breakfast. Kendra Dumbledore pursed her lips, obviously trying her hardest not to give in to those god-forsaken eyes of her daughter.

"Kendra dear, its Ariana's wish. You know how she hates being indoors all the time." Percival Dumbledore tried to convince her wife.

"But what if she got taken away by some snatchers? Or maybe the neighbors will make fun of her again. You _know_ how dangerous it is for our _six year old_ _daughter_ to wander off by herself ALL ALONE." She emphasized.

"But nothing's gonna happen to me! I can feel it. I want to take a walk around the village by _myself _and without Abe or Al tailing me from behind. And yup, I _do_ notice them mummy." She added after seeing the look on her mother's face.

"Busted.." Aberforth muttered in the side of his mouth and Albus smirked. Their little sis is as perceptive as ever.

"I still won't allow it! Aberforth, accompany her!"

Aberforth was about to agree, when he saw Ariana's sad face. His heart squeezed tightly at her miserable expression. He knew that she really liked to do things by herself and without someone assisting her. And this _is_ her birthday wish. He might as well respect it for today. Aberforth turned to his mother and proceeded to put on his most innocent face, "But I'm _grounded_ mother, remember?"

Kendra's mouth snapped shut as Percival suddenly laughed behind her, "He got you good dear!"

Kendra visibly bristled and tried to maintain her composure. "Well then, Albus? Could you accompany your little sister for a walk?"

Apparently, Albus knows just how much this means to Ariana at the same time as Aberforth did, for he said, "I still got to study and read books for my first year mother, I want to learn everything there is about Hogwarts. Just let Ariana go by herself, it'll only be for a few hours."

Kendra looked very taken aback by what her oldest son said and Percival bit his lip to keep from laughing at them further. Sometimes, Kendra wondered who the real mature one is in here. Because her husband certainly doesn't act like one. Slowly, she shook her head in defeat. "I- Oh alright. But be back _before_ lunch!" She yelled after her daughter's retreating back as she flashed her family-especially her brothers-a quick thankful grin.

"Well that went well." Albus smiled.

"Yeah…" Aberforth muttered. "So… want to feed the goats with me?"

"No thank you little brother, I'll rather be up in my room reading than getting nearly trampled by our goats who obviously hated my guts anytime."

Aberforth grinned lopsidedly, "I knew you'd say that."

**~~O~~**

Little Ariana bounded happily across the streets, occasionally whooping and snickering whenever one of their muggle neighbors threw her a look. She absolutely LOVED her freedom. After all, who wants to be stuck moping around in their house all day? Well… Albus is _certainly_ an exception. But she totally isn't! She likes playing around by the lake, even when most muggle kids don't join her because of her _weirdness_. Even until now, she doesn't know why she was being snubbed by the neighborhood children. Perhaps it was because she was a witch? But they don't know that, she hasn't even done magic! It made her feel slightly lonely because she's never had a friend in her life. Especially a _girl_.

Shaking away those thoughts, she grinned when she saw her favorite spot in the whole village; a clear lake sparkling from the scattered bits of sunlight and some tall trees just beside it. The wind picked up and the grass swayed to whichever direction the wind's going, her hair also joining the dance. Sighing contentedly, she glanced around to make sure she wasn't followed by her brothers before eventually relaxing and collapsing on the sweet-smelling grass, enjoying the peacefulness. She never did get any real quiet in their house, save for the instances when Aberforth was feeding and playing with the goats outside and when Albus is reading some stuff upstairs, so this was a very welcoming experience for her. Albus and Aberforth are always bickering whenever they see each other, they're really complete opposites. While Albus was the quiet, bookish one, Aberforth was the rebel noise-maker of the family. He never hesitates to launch into fights or say awful things or even land a punch or two. He's always so straight-forward. But Ariana is very glad of his attitude whenever some of the kids insult her because he's really dead useful. He protects her and takes care of her and she loves him for that. Albus, on the other hand, just sort of confuses the kids into oblivion by his riddle words of wisdom. But now, she's _six_ for Merlin's sake! She can already take care of herself just fine.

Thinking about her brothers made her smile, she really loves them so much. They're really good people, always thinking about the family's needs before theirs. And they're very smart too, especially Albus. Aberforth's more onto physical strength and such. If they just stopped fighting for at least a minute, they could be a very great team-

She sat up abruptly, tilting her head to the direction where the noise came from. Is somebody in there? Who would want to be near her, except her family? Everyone thought she was plain weird and kept muttering things about her, something her family was really angry at. She narrowed her eyes and stared at a bush. Is it just her, or does that bush have _eyes_?

Someone suddenly pushed her and she let out a little scream, hurriedly scrambling to her feet and backing away from the boy now smirking in front of her. He looked about Albus' age, but much larger in build. He was soon joined by two other boys, who she realized came from behind those bushes earlier. She briefly wondered what they were doing here with a 'weirdo' like _her_ of all people when the first boy from earlier spoke up; "I see you haven't got any of your brothers hanging around you right now huh? What brought on the big change?"

Ariana pursed her lips, feet fidgeting before she chose to reply in a shy voice, "It's my birthday."

The boy raised an eyebrow, "Your birthday? Let me guess, they finally decided to let out a weirdo like you all alone because you're finally older? I bet they're tired of sticking up for you every so often. Well then, if that's the case, a very happy birthday to you _freak_."

Ariana felt tears slowly pricking in the corner of her eyes and she glared angrily at them, "That's not true! My family would never send me away!"

"You sure about that?" Ariana felt a hot tear fall as she watched the group laugh heartily at her. She deeply regretted sending her brothers away now. She wished Aberforth would suddenly swoop in and punch the boys' nose right about now, or Albus can pop out of nowhere and lecture their ears off.

They never came.

They continued taunting her. Apparently, they've been waiting for the day she went out alone to do all this. She just continued standing there, glaring furiously at them as tears streamed down her face. She tried to bolt off once, but they immediately pushed her back, spread out and continued jeering at her in every direction. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She watched through red vision as the grass around her stopped swaying with the breeze, going as still as a needle, and started rising off the ground. The boys immediately stopped in the middle of mid-laugh as they watched each of the individual needle-like grass swirling around Ariana anxiously and they jumped when it all stopped with the tips pointed at them. To both the boys and Ariana's surprise, the grass launched themselves towards the boys, and all yelled and screamed as their skins got sliced thinly by the razor-sharp leaves. Ariana watched all this dumbfounded, she had finally done it! She did her very first magic! But this was hardly a time to celebrate, as the grass immediately became limp when her anger was overtaken by surprise. Immediately, the boys rounded on her, causing her to take several steps back. They're all bleeding lightly, but this only seemed to anger them much more. She tried summoning back the leaves, but she didn't know how she did it, and could only watch terrified as the group turned to her furiously. "How did you do that?!" the boy demanded. She only shook her head in fear, her mother told her to never tell any of the muggles about magic, but she was very tempted when another one of the boys stepped forward.

"You know what? The rumors are all true. You're a real freak. _Everyone_ in your family is. I bet you're all demons. And the things earlier only proved that." He sneered. "That Aberforth kid's not here to save your skin now, so is that other nerd boy. And you obviously can't do the grass-thing again. What are you gonna do now?"

Just then, Ariana realized her situation. She was helpless. No one's gonna save her. Nobody's gonna find out until it's too late. She suddenly felt dread and she felt her breath coming in short gasps. She was hyperventilating!

"What do you say we do it then?" The other boy asked the leader, all seeming to enjoy her situation. "Freaks like her deserved to be punished after doing that to us."

"Great idea Will." The boy smirked. "Let's see how you'll like it now_ demon_."

Suddenly, she was seized by two of the boys and carried off to the tall trees, she yelled as she was dumped unceremoniously on the ground hidden by thick and tall bushes. She whimpered when one of the boys grabbed her by her shoulders and pinned her to the ground. "What are you going to do to me?"

"Teaching you a lesson." The leader smirked and suddenly touched something that made her insides squirm. She didn't like someone to touch her in there! She yelled for them to stop, but they just grinned maniacally as they pinned her to the ground and started ripping off her dress, bit by bit. She screamed and screamed for her mother and father, for her brothers! But no one could hear her, it's as if the only thing that existed as of that moment were her very exposed self and the three boys. The boys then started touching her all around and she whimpered and trashed and screamed until one finally got annoyed and tied her mouth shut with a piece of her own dress.

Whimpering in fright as hot tears streamed and fell, she just watched helplessly as the group started undressing, one by one, and knelt down all around her. She screwed her eyes shut and trashed but the boys held her down. She suddenly jumped when a hand trailed over her thigh lightly and flinched away violently when a voice breathed near her ear that made her send goose bumps, "Consider this as our… gift for you in this _very_ special day."

She whimpered when she felt the boy position himself on top of her and she snapped her eyes open and screamed in pain when she felt it, the most horrible thing ever. She screamed her throat hoarse as the boys each took turns. Either way, she kept screaming and trashing, wishing for all of this pain to end, wishing for her family to come and rescue her, wishing the boys would just go away already, wishing she would just _die_. The group continued muttering things in her ear ranging from insults, to how they liked her tiny body the way it is. She released one final scream that seemed to echo for miles around, and suddenly, light began to pulse around her body. The boys faltered and watched as she glowed brightly before Ariana slumped over, unconscious.

**~~O~~**

**So, how was that? I tried to be as vague as possible but please do tell me if any of the things mentioned here is pretty specific or obvious. I would like this story to be readable for the younger audience so help me make this SUPER unclear.**

**And just a reminder, Albus is 10 here, Aberforth is 7, and Ariana's 6 years old. Pretty young huh? Poor Ari...**

**And also? If you can, please review. Tell me what you think, good or bad. I want- no, _need_ to know if someone actually likes this or just wants to see what's next. It's a little discouraging to see that there's just 2 favs and 4 follows out of 224 views, don't you think? I don't want to force you to review but it's really depressing. If this goes on, I might not be able to even complete this thing. So yeah, hit the review button below and say whatever you like. Thank you and have a nice day.**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Horrible Discovery

**Chapter 3 - The Horrible Discovery**

**Random thing: I'm very happy today. Wonder why? Cause there's finally a review! XD Thank you VERY much RosieeWeebb for reviewing and advising me. Really. Thanks. I dedicate this chappie to you. And for the rest of you, I hope you like it! Don't go ruining my good mood now, it's awesome.**

**~~O~~**

"Where could she be?" Kendra Dumbledore asked as she paced around the room, glancing up every now and then to see her husband and sons all watching her anxiously, obviously unnerved as well. Ariana usually follows their assigned curfew, and this is the first time she's been very late. Except for the time when she was cornered in an alley by some bullies until Aberforth found her, and she was only late whenever something bad happened to her.

"You think she's in trouble?" Aberforth asked apprehensively, looking the most panicked out of the three of them if that's even possible.

"Maybe.." Albus pursed his lips and knitted his eyebrows together to a frown. Percival then turned to his oldest son and said, "Albus, could you go and fetch her? I'm sure she's just side-tracked about something new she discovered about butterflies."

No one looked pretty convinced about that. Everyone was worried, and when Albus stood up and started to leave, Aberforth panicked even more. "Wait! Can't I come too? What if something _did_ happen to her?! I can help!"

"No, you're grounded Aberforth remember? Hurry up Albus, find her." Percival told him and Albus nodded stiffly and left. Aberforth yelled out in frustration and ran upstairs in his room, slamming the door rather loudly. Kendra then turned to her husband, suspicion evident in her eyes. Percival just sighed wearily, "I don't know where she is anymore than you do Kendra. Let's just hope she's safe."

** ~~O~~**

The moment he closed the door, Albus took off in a run. He's very worried about Ariana. She's never late, and if she is, it's just five minutes after. Not a whole half hour! He'll never forgive himself if something did happen. He loved her dearly more than what he shows outside. She's always a sweet and perceptive little girl. And quite bright for her age. He kept telling himself that their father was right, that she _did_ just got side-tracked because of butterflies, but his inner musings changed to the worse when he reached the first place Ariana was most likely in. The shore in the lake by the trees. And it's covered in drops of blood. _Blood_! Albus' stomach squeezed painfully as the most horrible scenarios flitted across his mind. _Was Ariana hurt? Is this her blood? What the bloody hell happened in here?! _Albus glanced around the place frantically until he finally saw a small blood trail leading to the trees. _Is she in there? _He asked himself and took off, putting on a new burst of speed as the trail got bigger and bloodier until he saw something that made him stop dead in his tracks and retch. He emptied his whole meal on the spot and cried harshly, the image of his sweet, innocent little sister leaning on a tree bloodied, bruised, and _bare_ with a gag on her mouth still leaving an imprint in his mind. _What happened?! What went wrong? Who did this? What did she do to deserve this?! _And a hundred questions started popping up in his mind but he knew he would get some answers later. Right now, Ariana's more important than the end of the world.

He snapped his eyes open and averted his gaze from the seemingly corpse-like body of his sister and removed his coat. He then rushed over to her and carefully covered her with it. He then proceeded to remove the gag and threw it as far away from him as possible. Then, with shaking arms and tears still streaming down his face, he lifted his precious little sister into his arms and started the journey home at a brisk pace, both afraid to run and jostle her body even more or afraid to walk slowly or she might never make it. He kept muttering words of encouragement in her ear, but it only seems to just make her flinch away violently from him and fall unconscious again. He didn't understand, who would do this horrible thing to her?! She's just _six_ for Merlin's bloody sake! Their family's going to be extremely devastated and angry. And it's all his fault! If he just accompanied her like his mother wanted…

He hiccupped as a fresh bout of tears cascaded down his cheeks and he walked even faster, he can't stand to see her extremely pale face and think about how much he failed her as a big brother. He slowly felt his coat becoming soaked with the blood and other _substances _and he gritted his teeth to keep himself from screaming and throwing something in a rage. There it is! Their house! _Just a few feet more… Just you wait Ariana. Mother and Father will know what to do. I promise._

** ~~O~~**

Not a whole ten minutes has passed when a frantic and loud knock echoed in the Dumbledores' silent house. Kendra immediately jumped up and slammed it open, fearing the worst…

** ~~O~~**

Aberforth collapsed on his bed angrily, feeling left out. He couldn't believe he hasn't been allowed to look for Ariana! Albus doesn't care much about her, but _he_ did! And if anything _did_ happen that made Ariana come home late, _maybe it's the bullies again_, if he wasn't grounded, he might be able to land in a few punches. But seeing as he can't, he just pounded on his pillow as he waited for Albus to return. Suddenly, a loud and harsh knock filled the quiet house. He heard his mother pound downstairs and slam the front door open. He waited with bated breath before he jumped as a shrill scream filled the house coupled with his father's angry shouts and Albus' sobs. He threw his door open, heart pounding as horrible scenarios filled his head. _What happened to Ari? Is she alright?! _He pounded down the stairs just in time to see his beloved little sister wrapped in Albus' coat with blood and bruises covering her. He suspected there were more, but he didn't get a chance to see before he was shoved away from the room by Albus, whose obviously crying harshly. But before he could even say something, Albus steered him away to his room with a very determined but guilty expression.

"A-Albus? What happened? Why are you crying? Is Ari okay? Why're mother and father so angry? Answer me dammit!" He yelled as Albus shoved him into his room and slammed the door close behind both of them. Then he broke down again. Aberforth watched horrified as his oldest brother, the calm, quiet, and arrogant know-it-all, looking so miserable and guilty. It must be so terrible to make Albus break down and cry like this. But Aberforth couldn't move. He's frozen and helpless as he watched Albus snatch one of his beloved books and throw them across the room. He watched his brother kick his bed in rage and yell out in frustration. Finally, when he sensed he calmed down just a little, Aberforth asked the question that has been hanging over his head with a voice so small he himself was surprised that he was even heard. "I-Is… Is A-Ari.. _dead_?"

He watched horrified as Albus shook his head. "I-I don't know Abe. When I c-carried her… she seems so small an.. and _exposed_. But I know she's still breathing, maybe just a little bit.."

"But what happened?! Tell me something or I'll go down there and find out myself!" Aberforth shouted and slammed open Albus' door, but his brother immediately pushed him away and closed it again, looking very furious. "NO! You will _not_ go down there Abe. I won't let you! I won't let you see her like that and get scarred for life! I WON'T!"

Aberforth backed away as he saw Albus lose his temper even more, but he wasn't the rebel of the family for nothing. He ran and body-slammed Albus away from the door and wrenched it open yet again, but Albus seized him by his sleeve and threw him across the room and to the bed, saving him from landing on the floor and getting knocked out. Aberforth growled angrily as Albus slammed the door close and spread his arms wide, blocking him from the only escape in the room. "Please listen to me Abe! You wouldn't want to see her in that state! We will find out what happened after Mother and Father are done."

"But I saw blood! I saw bruises! Please tell me what you know Albus!" Aberforth yelled helplessly. He watched Albus purse his lips and sigh, looking very weary and defeated. He slumped on the bed beside Aberforth and placed his head on his hands. "Okay… I-I found her by the lake. You know her favorite spot?" (Aberforth nodded) "Well she's not there. But instead, I found a trail of blood leading up to the trees.."

Aberforth gasped, "A trail of _blood_?! _Her_ blood?"

"I don't know. Most likely. Anyways, I found her. Just lying there looking…" He choked. "d-dead and _exposed_."

"What do you mean by exposed?" Aberforth asked slowly, feeling horrible dread creep up inside him.

"Abe... s-she's hurt. _Really_ bad."

"What do you mean? There's just a few blood and bruises-"

"You wouldn't understand. The Muggle boys did something and... and she's exposed as in…" Albus suddenly met Aberforth's gaze with distraught and defeated eyes. So intense that Aberforth quickly stumbled back. "Her clothes were g-gone Abe. Ripped to shreds. One piece of it was tied up to her mouth. A gag..."

But before he could even finish, Aberforth broke down. Albus immediately hugged him tight as he yelled and cried and choked and sobbed. The front of his shirt became soaked with salty tears but he didn't let go. They just held on to each other for comfort. Albus was fairly surprised, he only saw Aberforth cry once, and it was because of his goats when one of them died. But seeing him like this made him realize just how serious the situation really is.

Ariana might never be the same again.


	4. Chapter 4 - Azkaban

**Chapter 4 – Azkaban**

**~~O~~**

Kendra Dumbledore quickly performed the diagnostics spell while her husband Percival sat next to her, his whole frame shaking with fear and anger. After confirming what she suspected all along but stubbornly not believing it, Kendra collapsed on the chair next to her husband and started to cry.

"_No_! How could this happen?" Kendra sobbed. "H-How?" _And in her daughter's birthday, no less._

"T-Those _bastards_!" Percival shook with anger. "I'll kill them.. I'll kill them all!"

"Oh Ari… my poor little child…" She struggled to sit up then, and started to perform the necessary healing spells and potions for the treatment while her husband brooded at the thought of tearing the boys apart piece by piece. Suddenly, Percival leapt to his feet.

"I'll go and find them right now!"

"Don't! What will you do to them?" Kendra stared at him with tearful eyes.

"They need to get what they deserve!" Percival growled, the usual friendly twinkle in his blue eyes now completely gone, replaced by cold rage.

"But you don't know what they look like…"

Percival's head suddenly snapped around to look at her, then he glanced at Ariana and stared at her intensely. Kendra, immediately knowing what was happening, attempted to block his view from the girl. But too late, Percival got a clear image of the four boys using Legilimency. Then, giving Ariana one final kiss on the forehead, he ran out the living room.

"Dear, _WAIT_!"

She rushed to the door and almost let out a sigh of relief when she found her husband waiting by the open door, back facing her.

"Percival…" She started, placing a hand on his shoulder and feeling the tension there. "I… I love you. _Very much_."

Percival slowly turned around and faced her, looking like he aged a hundred years the past few minutes. With tears streaming out his eyes, he wrapped her up in a loving hug that conveyed all his emotions into her. Kendra burst in a fresh bout of tears and kissed him before letting go.

"I love you too dear. Take care of the kids for me will you? Tell them how much I love them, and that I did this for Ariana." He then proceeded to close the door. But before he did, he looked at her with fierce determination in his eyes.

"And tell them that no matter how many times I do it, I will never regret it. I loved you all too much." And with that, he was gone. Leaving Kendra all alone in the hall, sobbing uncontrollably.

**~~O~~**

Albus and Aberforth's head both snapped up and peered out the window when they heard the door close. They found their father rushing down the road, purpose intent in every stride. They could practically feel the aura of his magic from up here, and all the rage he felt. Then, with an unspoken agreement, they went tearing down the stairs and to the living room where they found their mother taking care of their sister.

"Mother? Where is father going?" Albus asked apprehensively. He felt a strong urge that he will not like what he will hear.

Their mother was quiet for several moments. Just as it became obvious Aberforth's going to crack under the pressure and force it out of her, mother or not, she spoke. "He went after the boys who did this."

Albus felt his eyes widen and Aberforth paled considerably. "Father will _not_ let them get away with this. I _know_ it."

"But what's going to happen to him? If he _will_ do it?" Aberforth asked in a small voice.

"Most likely go to a trial or worse, straight to Azkaban."

That word alone caused the room's temperature to drop several degrees. Suddenly, Aberforth yelled out in frustration and slammed his fist on the wall, his eyes watering from the pain while Albus felt his legs give out and he collapsed on the chair his father occupied just minutes ago. Kendra felt her tears build up again and she tried to rub them furiously while she worked.

They could only wait in fear for what the next day would bring.

**~~O~~**

Every head snapped up when they heard an insistent tapping on the window the next morning. The Dumbledore family didn't dare sleep after the events, they're too caught up in their own thoughts and the well-being of Ariana. They treated and dressed her outer wounds (though the inner is too difficult to tell), they bathed her, (Aberforth furiously scrubbed her body and washed it several times to remove what he called: "_the boys' stinkiness_" from her) and they clothed her in her best clothes, doing their best to remove any reminder of the incident. The owl effectively broke them out of their reverie and they watched as it flew to the closest one, Albus.

Albus untied the Daily Prophet from its leg and gave it the required Galleons before opening it hurriedly. There! Right in the front page. The title from the headline alone caused him to pale and tremble.

"What? What is it Al?" Aberforth asked in alarm and he ran over to read above his shoulder.

_**Percival Dumbledore, famous inventor, sentenced to Azkaban for the torturing and killing of four Muggle boys.**_

_**By: Evelyn Skeeter**_

The family gasped at this as Albus looked down, _he knew it_. Aberforth snatched the paper out of his hands and began reading the article aloud:

_Percival Brian Dumbledore, famous for the invention of the Time-Turner and the Patronus Charm, was reported being seen torturing four Muggle boys with the Cruciatus Curse, one of the Unforgivables. Several Muggle witnesses were promptly Obliviated of this incident after bringing the raging man down._

"_You should have seen it! It took three stunners to finally bring the man down after killing the four boys. Whatever happened to him must be so bad to make him do this."_

_Some people, however, simply believed that Percival has, as they say, finally 'lost his marbles'._

_The Wizengamot on his trial last night stated that killing four Muggles is an unforgivable act whether or not you are a famous man. Percival didn't help matters when he confessed that he did it of his own free will and that he didn't state any reasons for doing this. He is now sentenced to Azkaban and is expected to leave this morning._

_What will become of the infamous Dumbledore family now? Are they really a family of Muggle-haters? Crazy? Insane? Find out in the next issue._

_For Percival Dumbledore's full achievements and discoveries, turn to page 3  
For information on the Dumbledore family, turn to page 6_

"Oh my dear Percival!" Kendra sobbed again. "I shouldn't have let you leave!"

"Azkaban? He did it because of Ari! He shouldn't be treated like this! Damn it!" Aberforth yelled in anger. "Those kinds of Muggles needed to be slaughtered for this!"

Albus remained quiet, but inside, his emotions were going on overload. Why didn't his Father tell the Wizengamot about what happened to Ariana? He at least would have even a small chance from Azkaban.

"Because he was afraid."

Albus started as he spotted his Mother looking at him sadly. _Did he just say that out loud?_

"Yeah, you did." Aberforth muttered.

Albus cursed inwardly as his Mother continued looking at him. "What do you mean he's afraid Mother?"

Kendra sighed sadly. "Percival's afraid of saying anything because of Ariana. If he said something, they will take Ariana to St. Mungo's."

"But isn't that a good thing?" Aberforth asked confusedly.

"Yes and no." Kendra steeled herself. "It is a good thing because they can treat her even better than I did, but if they found out she was…" She choked. "_assaulted_, they could scan her for any signs of mental trauma. If they found one, they will more than likely keep her at one of the permanent mental wards and we may never see her that much again."

Both brothers widened their eyes as they glanced at their silent unconscious sister. They didn't realize that their Father sacrificed so much by going after them. Both of them, especially Aberforth, wished that they could somehow go back in time to rescue Ariana, or just simply want to beat the crap out of the boys themselves.

But all that wishful thinking stopped abruptly when they heard the shifting of the couch. The Dumbledore family slowly turned and stared at the dull blue eyes sleepily staring straight back at them.

Albus froze in shock as Aberforth said the name in disbelief…

"_Ari_?"


End file.
